Rolling-mill rail-carrier



(No Model.) a sheets-sheen 1 W. CLARK. ROLLINRMILLRAAIL CARRIER. No.258,377. Y Patented May 23, 1882.

N, PETERS4 PhumLimognplmr, washingmn. n. C, '"2

' 3 Sheets-Sheet 2. W. CLARK. ROLLING MILL RAIL CARRIER. Patented Ma..23, 1882.

(No Model.)

(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 3.

W. CLARK.

ROLLING MILL RAIL CARRIER.

N0. 258,377." Patented May Z3, 1882.

Figi- IL-Jy L IMI FFIEO j PATENT WILLIAM CLARK, F PITTSBRG,PENNSYLVANIA.

ROLLING-MILL RAIL-CARRIER.

sPncrFrcAcrroN teeming peet ef Lettere Patent Ne. 258,377, aetea Mey es,1882. Application tiled October 26, 1881. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM CLARK, of Pittsburg, county of Allegheny,State of Pennsylvania, have invented or discovered a new and usefulImprovement in Rolling-Mill Rail- Carriers; and l do hereby decl-arethefollowing to he a full, clear, concise, and exact descriptionthereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making a partof this specification, in which-v-like letters indicating like partst,

Figures 1, 2, a-nd 3, Sheet l, show detail views to an enlarged scale ofportions of the apparatus employed in moving rails, as illustrated inFig. 4, Sheetfl, which represents a cross-section of a buildingfurnished with my improved appliances, and also in Fig. 5, Sheet 3,which shows a plan view of the saine.

My invention relates to au improved apparatus for transferringrailway-rails after being rolled and cambered to a cooling bed or frame,preliminary to cold-straightening. Such rails leave the rollsatacomparatively high temperature, and where they are made in largequantities considerable space must be provided, in which they may beallowed to cool sufficiently to be handled for cold-straightening.

Any suitable cooling bed or frame may be employed; but it should be opento as great an extentas possiblc,in orderthat cooling may be facilitatedby a free circulation of air. Such a. bed constructed in a cooling shedor room, A, adjacent to the rolling-mill, may be formed of hollowcast-iron pillars B, Figs. 4 and 5, and ou these rack or supporting barsb may be laid. Preferably two or more such frames should be provided, sothat they may be used alternately or in succession.

The rails, having been rolledcut to length, and having received theVproper camber, are delivered onto a'table composed of rollers c. Infact, such rollers may constitute the delivery apparatus, and in suchcase they may .be operated by any suitable gearing and shafting, asillustrated at a', Fig. 5. The rail-supports b are even, or nearly so,with the tops of these rollers, Figs. 1 and 4, so that the rails rasdelivered may readily be slid onto the supports b and slid across thebed, so as to he laid in compact and regular order, as illustrated atr',

Figs. 4 and V5. In order to movcthe rails r thus along or across thecooling-frame, I employ a truck or carriage, (shown at R, Figs.`4 and 5,and the details of which are shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 3,) and such truckor carriage is arranged to run on orin an elevated or raised track,which in this case is formed of two trackrails, R' R', which extend fromend to end of y the bed, Figs. 4 and 5, and are suitably sup ported attheir ends, and, if need be, between their ends, by posts p and ahanger-trame, f, and at the proper height above thecoolingframe. Thissupporting-track may be of any suitable construction, as devices adaptedtoV such work are well known in the art; but preferablyI use the twotrack-rails R Reach of which is of U-shaped iron or steel, Figs;l to

`3,-with the open sides' of the U facing each other, and in thesechannels the wheelsc of the truck or carriage play back and forth. Be-

tween the wheels and on the axles thereof is a truck-frame composed ofend hearings, d, and one or more connecting-webs, d', arranged at suchdistance apart (if two be used) as to have pivoted between them, by apivot-pin, e, a bent lever, g g', which consists of a depending leg, g,and one or more stop-arms, g', such parts being secured together byrivets e'. e

The device thus made may properly be termed a pusher,siuceit is intendedfor usein pushing the rails r across from the roller-table ct onto andacross the bed; and for this purpose it, with the truck or carriage ofwhich it forms a part, has a reciprocating motion forward and back alongthe cooling-frame, so as to push one or more rails across into positionand then return for another. This pusher is` by preference so hung byits pivot-pin c that when the depending leg g bears against a rail, r,for the purpose of sliding it along from right to left, as illustratedin Figs. l, 4, and 5, it will be held rigidly in place by the ends g2 ofthe arms g engaging the under side ot' what is then the rear axle,though other equivalent stop may be employed; but there is nothing toprevent the pusher from swinging in the other direc` tion, so that afterone rail has been slid across to its proper place on the bed the pushermay in coming back swing over the next rail,which by 4that time may havebeen delivered onto the roller-table a.

Onesuch appara-tus should be arranged at IOO or near each edge of thebed, as illustrated in Fig. 5, and the two trucks should be arranged tooperate simultaneously on any rail or rails, as it is obvious that one,two, or more rails may be so moved onto the bed at once.

As a means of moving the trucks any suitable device attached overhead orsuspended from above may be employed, that shown in the drawings beingon some accounts preferable. For this purpose I connect a rope, n, with'the truck and carry one end of the rope forward between the side plates,R', over a pulley, a', then up t0 a drum, n2, Fig. 4, which may bedriven by belt or otherwise from a powershaft,a3. The other end, passingunder a pulley, lm, and over a pulley, m', may have connected with it acounter-weight, m2, so as to effect a return motion.

In order t0 enable the truck or carriage to come back after having slida rail or rails across, the power may be reversed, or, what is better,the winding-drum n2 may be made to run free on its shaft, except whenthrown into gear by a clutch or frictional contact. Such device willenable it to do its work in drawing the trucks and rails across, and theclutch being released, the counter-weight will cause its 'return motion.

If the apparatus is so organized that the return motion will be effectedbefore another rail is delivered, the depending leg g may be made rigidinstead of swinging.

It is an important feature of the apparatus that the operative mechanism'is arranged above the cooling-frame, instead of below, since thus,inaddition to the other advantages, I avoid the liability of having theoperation interfered with by dirt, dust, or scale dropping down.

I claim herein as my inventionl. As an improvement in mechanism forremoving` rails from the rollin g-mill, the arran gcment of the movingmechanism above and distinct from the cooling-bed, in the mannersubstantially as described.

2. rlhe truck It, composed of wheels e, frame d, pivoted swingingpusher-leg g, and a stop lo limit the swinging of the pusher in one direction and support it against the force brought to bear to move therail, substantially as set forth.

3. In combination with a cooling bed or frame and raised or elevatedchanneled guide rails R', a truck, R, carrying a pusher-leg, g, landconnected to a power drawing mechanism at one end and to acounter-weight at the other, substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

WILLIAM CLARK.

Witnesses:

R. H. WHrrrLEsnY, GEORGE H. CHRISTY.

